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‘Virtually infructuous’: HC disposes of Amritpal’s parole petition hearing
The bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sanjiv Berry noted that the case was listed on a daily basis from December 15. However, could not be taken up due to lawyers abstaining from the work due to which arguing counsels were not available.
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Thursday disposed of a plea from Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, seeking parole to attend winter session of Parliament, observing that the petition had “virtually become infructuous”.
The bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sanjiv Berry noted that the case was listed on a daily basis from December 15. However, could not be taken up due to lawyers abstaining from the work due to which arguing counsels were not available.
It also orally said that assuming the prayer is allowed, it would be extremely difficult to fly Amritpal Singh from Dibrugarh to Delhi and advised counsels of the MP to make representations to the government, well in advance, in case he opts for attending a Parliament session. The session ends on Friday.
Amritpal has been under detention at Dibrugarh jail in Assam since his arrest in April 2023 under the NSA. Nine of his associates were brought back to Punjab in March-April this year.
The state government had rejected Amritpal Singh’s representation on November 26 and he moved the high court on December 1. Arguments could not conclude on his petition as from December 15, lawyers abstained from work. He himself also appeared virtually on December 16. However, due to poor connection he could not advance the arguments.
The Punjab government had opposed the parole and said that allowing Amritpal any platform, physical or virtual, carried “grave risks”. “Once an MP gets a national or global platform, the consequences for security are profound. A single speech can pose serious danger to the safety and survival of Punjab and the nation. It can set the five rivers on fire. One can only err on the side of caution,” senior advocate Anupam Gupta, who had appeared for Punjab had said. The state’s apprehension was grounded in Amritpal’s “background and his conduct” and that state’s uneasiness is justified, he had told the court.
The radical Sikh preacher won the Khadoor Sahib seat with 1.9 lakh votes as an Independent in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and was administered the oath of office on July 5, 2024. Since then, he has not attended the Parliament. Detailed order is awaited.
